Line #42 YMMV/Everworld


1	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: ''Senna''. Even when she's the POV character for a book, she's so reserved and confusing that she lends herself to this trope. She herself barely seems to know who she is.
2	* AnticlimaxBoss: Anica, who turns out to be much weaker than the OMG POWERFUL WITCH that Senna had been hyping her up to be and [[spoiler: gives up without even trying to fight after her plot with Merlin fails.]] Though, it should be noted that [[spoiler:Senna did not actually know how powerful Anica was, making this not so much a case of her usual manipulations as her actually fearing her mother would be a much greater threat than she ended up being]].
3	* {{Anvilicious}}: The Sennites, as detailed above.
4	* BadassDecay:
5	** David starts by seeming like a more badass [[Characters/AnimorphsAnimorphs Jake]], even with/made more impressive by how he was a loser in the "real world", but his weaknesses eventually overtake him until [[WeakWilled mental weakness]] is more or less his defining feature. Unusual in that it arguably worked out for the better, letting the other three become stronger while he hit bottom. He does start to recover in the last two books.
6	** While Senna is never a particularly ''nice'' character, her evil side goes into overdrive in ''Mystify the Magician'', seemingly in time with her competence taking a [[VillainBall steep downward dive]]. By the end, she's become a strutting, preening caricature of herself (literally, as she dons a Valkyrie-inspired illusionary form to lead the Sennites with). Whether or not this is the logical culmination of her character arc is a bone of contention for her fans.
7	* BaseBreakingCharacter:
8	** ''Everworld'' is obscure and has a small fanbase, but for what it is, Senna serves this role. She's either hated for being an [[EvilIsPetty evil]], [[SmugSnake arrogant]], [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] bitch or loved for being an [[EvilIsCool evil]], [[AwesomeEgo arrogant]], [[MagnificentBastard manipulative]] bitch. A ''third'' slice of the fanbase loves her for being an intelligent, competent badass in a series where most mortals are merely the playthings of gods, and refuses to pass judgment on the evil, arrogant manipulative bitch parts.
9	** April isn't much better; some April. Some fans like her, others think she's the CreatorsPet (or more specifically, the second coming of [[Characters/AnimorphsAnimorphs Cassie]], whom she's an {{Expy}} of. Yeah, [[NeverLiveItDown still a lot of hang-ups over that character....]])
10	* CompleteMonster:In this dark world where AllMythsAreTrue, these gods reign as the worst even among their fellow JerkassGods:
11	** [[GreaterScopeVillain Ka Anor]] is [[TheDreaded the one being that even the gods fear]]. The [[GodIsEvil god of the insectoid alien Hetwan]], Ka Anor invaded Everworld with his army of mind slaved soldiers, intent on conquering the pocket universe and [[GodEating devouring all of its gods]]. A huge sadist, Ka Anor's single most horrific act might be his cannibalization of Olympian cupbearer Ganymede. Having captured the young god, Ka Anor takes the form of a swarm of insects, and strips him down to the bone, keeping him alive to the very last second, as the heroes watch in horror. During the siege of Olympus Ka Anor offers Zeus the chance to escape with five chosen gods, if he will sacrifice the rest of his pantheon to Ka Anor's appetite; it is later revealed that Ka Anor had no intention of holding up his end of the bargain. His Hetwan legions violate every conceivable rule of warfare, even by ancient terms, using acid and fire as their main weapons. Ka Anor shows that even in a CrapsackWorld, there are some who rise above the rest in monstrosity.
12	** ''Search for Senna'' & ''Land of Loss'': [[Myth/AztecMythology Huitzilopoctli]], lord of New Tonochititlan and the Aztec [[WarGod god of war]], maintains a steady stream of {{human sacrifice}}s via his Aztecs abducting countless beings for him to eat their hearts. In the war with the Vikings, Huitzilopoctli makes his debut and slaughters numerous soldiers, ending in breaking the Viking lord Olaf in half to devour his heart and having all prisoners treated to be fattened for sacrifice, a gigantic procession to his pyramid that kills so many, RiversOfBlood pour down the steps.
13	** ''Realm of the Reaper'' & ''Entertain the End'': [[GodOfTheDead Hel]] is depicted here as [[EverybodyHatesHades far worse]] than her Myth/NorseMythology counterpart. A TwoFaced monster, her cruelty extends to her servants, who are kidnapped from elsewhere and castrated when they are made to serve her. This pales though compared to what she does to those who end up in her domain. Those who are unfortunate to come to her hell domain are buried up to their chin in rock, and has their head used as a cobblestone, until the skin is worn away and their skulls are crushed. AxCrazy to the extreme, she lives to torture people and even among the variety of gods and monsters in the series, she is by far one of the worst.
14	* CultClassic: A small version, not nearly to the level of Animorphs, but a small solid fanbase persists for this series.
15	* DesignatedHero: None of the main characters are particularly heroic, not even David who breaks his back trying to be. They're all very flawed characters, and the narrative dwells on their flaws to such a point that they can often feel like this.
16	* DracoInLeatherPants:
17	** Senna's fans tend to ignore her love of MindRape, {{Freak Out}}s, and petty cruelty in favor of her FreudianExcuse, awesome [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative skills]], [[TheChessmaster planning]], and WellIntentionedExtremist motives.
18	** Interestingly enough, Senna is also an in-story example of a DracoInLeatherPants. April, Christopher and Jalil consider her to be a DevilInPlainSight, but David spends the first five books trying to convince the others that she's good, and the next six trying to redeem her.
19	* EnsembleDarkhorse: '''Senna'''. No matter your opinion of her, she's a multifaceted, compelling character whose presence alone is a good reason to read the series.
20	* FridgeBrilliance or HistoricalInJoke: Somewhere in-between these two in that one of the most famous of the Norse PoeticEdda is called the "Loka''senna''".
21	* HoYay: Christopher and Ganymede, in-universe. Ganymede's death is what convinces Christopher to start re-examining his bigoted beliefs about gay people.
22	* JerkassWoobie:
23	** For all her selfishness, malicious tendencies, controlling personality, and generally being a bitch, ''Inside the Illusion'' makes it very hard not to sympathize with Senna.
24	** David also qualifies, being an uptight HeroicWannabe who's more adept at pissing the group off than actually leading them, while simultaneously being an insecure wreck, stemming mainly from [[spoiler: his molestation as a child.]]
25	** The other three too. They're all jerks on multiple occasions, but they're all going through so much that you can't help but sympathize. Jalil's [[{{InsufferableGenius}} arrogant]], Christopher's a [[{{Jerkass}} jackass]], and April's [[{{Soapbox Sadie}} self-righteous]], but in their situations, would ''you'' do any better?
26	* LauncherOfAThousandShips: Not quite a thousand, but let's face it--April has some ShipTease with all three of the boys (including, yes, David), and Galahad, and that's not counting the people she dates in the real world.
27	* MagnificentBastard: In this dark world where AllMythsAreTrue, these gods and monsters reign above their peers in brilliance:
28	** [[TricksterGod Loki]] is the Norse God of Lies, [[DestroyerDeity Destruction]] and Trickery and one of the most devious deities to inhabit Everworld. A master manipulator, Loki usurped Odin himself and uses his imprisonment to blackmail the Vikings into warring with the Aztecs. Using his powers to bring the witch Senna from the normal world into Everworld, Loki plans to use her as a way to escape the wrath of the monster [[GodEating god eater Ka Anor]] against him and his fellow deities by trapping Ka Anor in this world alone. Loki spends his series pursuing the heroes and even launches a [[HeroKiller deadly sneak attack]] against [[Myth/ArthurianLegend the Round Table]] to get Senna back. At the end, when Senna perishes and his initial plan isn't possible, he gracefully allies with the heroes and helps save them from his mad daughter Hel, showing her who is the ultimate master of the Norse underworld.
29	** [[Myth/{{Merlin}} Merlin the Magnificent]] is the [[WizardClassic greatest sorcerer]] in existence and plans to [[TheAlliance unite the various deities of Everworld against Ka Anor]]. Merlin can change tactics on a dime and skillfully pursues our heroes and Senna to stop her from falling into Loki's clutches, always willing to manipulate a deal here and there to make it easier. Merlin is also prepared for if stuff goes wrong, such as making his home base into a giant trap to capture invading armies. Merlin is also willing to listen to others to improve his plans, using the advice of Christopher to manipulate the downfall of Senna and her followers by playing them against each other using [[MasterOfIllusion illusion magic]]. Merlin later allies with Loki to help save the heroes and forge an alliance to defeat the monstrous Ka Anor and his machinations.
30	** ''Discover the Destroyer'': [[NobleDemon Nidhoggr]], the [[DragonsAreDemonic dragon of the underworld]], is a massive beast who serves nobody but himself. A surprisingly cheerful, erudite and charming being, Nidhoggr enlists the service of the young heroes to delve into Hel's realm, manipulating them for his own ends and using them to secure his own position without any risk to himself.
31	** ''Brave the Betrayal'': [[FauxAffablyEvil Eshu]] is the TricksterGod of the Yoruba and a messenger of the higher gods. Upon the entrance of the heroes to his domain, Eshu is [[BlueAndOrangeMorality perplexed by their unwillingness]] to sacrifice animals and resorts to numerous different forms to sway them, also luring Jalil into the midst of a flood in the form of David. Eshu continues to taunt and sway the heroes with psychological tricks, ending with the last laugh by causing the deaths of Vikings they were attempting to save.
32	* MemeticMolester: Senna is a particularly dark version in fandom thanks to her relationship with David. While it is never outright stated in the books that Senna raped him, general fandom gospel is that she did, and numerous fanworks flanderize Senna into a psychotic rapist to DieForOurShip (the ship in question being either David/Christopher or David/Jalil).
33	* MindGameShip: Perpetrated and exploited by Senna, especially towards David.
34	* MoralEventHorizon: Ka Anor was a monster from the start, but his devouring of Ganymede nicely cements this. For Senna, there's ''Mystify the Magician'', when she goes off the deep end and orchestrates the massacre of hundreds of people to feed her lust for power. As for Hel...pick a moment.
35	* {{Narm}}: Senna is a MeaningfulName, sure... it's also the name of a very common laxative so it's easy for serious scenes to elicit giggles when this threatening person shares a name with [=ExLax=]'s active ingredient.
36	* NightmareFuel:
37	** Powers a lot of the tension in the story. Ka Anor, in particular, is [[strike: an insectophobe's]] anyone's worst nightmare. [[{{Room 101}} Ka Anor is Fear.]]
38	** In-story example: The first thing Senna did with her witch powers was to [[MasterOfIllusion disguise herself]] as ''[[Literature/TheHobbit Gollum]]'', then sneak into April's bedroom while she was asleep and hiss out, "Wake up, my preciousssss. Is it awake? Gollum . . . Gollum . . . or is it dreaming, precioussss?" Poor April was ''only eight'' at the time, but holy crap did Senna ever get a kick out of that one.
39	** Combined with an in-story example of FanDisservice: Hel, who is deliciously sexy enough "in profile alone" to render the male characters incapable of thought. Until she reveals her other side, rotten, decaying flesh riddled with worms and falling off her bones. The worst part is that the guys are STILL helplessly attracted to her, even while being repulsed to the point of nausea. The detail in which she is described can only be called excruciating.
40	** Hel's realm of Nifleheim makes [[Literature/{{Animorphs}} the Yeerk Pool]] look downright ''tame'' by comparison. There's a road of [[DemBones human skulls leading to it,]] which eventually turns into a road of ''still living'' people who are [[FateWorseThanDeath buried up to their neck and have their heads used as cobblestones,]] with more people being interred this way every time the road needs an extension. In Hel's throne room there is a huge pit with a bunch of creatures crucified or otherwise affixed to the walls, some dead, some still alive. When the characters try to escape at one point, Hel makes a bunch of zombies who have been BuriedAlive rise out of the ground, and some of them are [[EyeScream missing their eyes due to worms having eaten them.]]
41	* RootingForTheEmpire: An odd version, as Senna herself is a BaseBreakingCharacter, but her followers (a pack of AxCrazy wannabe Nazis) are much less ambiguous. Senna's fans often dump the Sennites (it helps that Senna herself had no racist tendencies and saw her followers as merely a means to an end).
42	* TearJerker: For those who sympathize with Senna, ''Inside the Illusion'' will have some moments. For everyone else, there's Ganymede's death.
43	* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The series ''constantly'' dwells on the protagonists' feelings of failure and futility, which can get a little boring at times.
44	* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: This series has a lot of violence, sexual references, curses, homophobia and alcoholism. So naturally it was displayed by stores and libraries in the children's section.
45	* WordOfDante: Allegedly, the last three books were ghostwritten. Given general fan consensus to their quality, particularly the way they suddenly turn Senna from an AntiHero to an AxCrazy sadist, this would not be surprising if it was true. It especially makes sense because those three books overlapped with the beginning of Literature/{{Remnants}}, and according to WordOfGod, it was impossible to keep up Everworld and the occasional Animorphs book ''without'' a third series to complicate things.
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Context YMMV / Everworld